Paranormal Romance Blog

Categories: contests • paranormal books

Author Linda Thomas-Sundstrom’s Wolf Moons series’ finale WOLF TRAP is now on sale from Silhouette Nocturne. Be sure you don’t miss the conclusion of these red-hot werewolf romances…and you may just win a free copy by commenting on Linda’s guest post!

by Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, author of WOLF TRAP (Silhouette Nocturne, March 2010)

Howdy Paranormal fans. I’m Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, Nocturne author, waving to you from the wild, wild western USA.. How the heck are ya?

I’m so very happy to be invited here today to share a little about the final book in my Wolf Moons series for Nocturne, because it’s a series I especially love, and a subject I love to write about, as you probably know if you joined me here last month for Red Wolf‘s release.

Those things I love to write about = Werewolves. The things that niggle at me in the form of ideas and images, nearly taking over my brain at times  = Werewolves. Those hot-blooded, sexy alpha males that may be the guy next door, the E.R. doctor who put a cast on your broken ankle, or the cop that chases after the bad guys in your neighborhood… who may turn furry or ferocious when the full moon shines. Yeah, those guys. Werewolves. Yum.

This month’s finale in the Wolf Moons series is Wolf Trap. The set up in last month’s Red Wolf is that there’s a rogue werewolf in Miami biting innocent people and creating his own hard-core pack of crazed criminals from those he bites. Each of the four stories in this series that started with the Nocturne Bite, Blackout. deals with one couple effected by such a bite. In Blackout, this happened to be a female cop, Dana Delmonico, who was bitten during a raid while trying to cuff a bad guy. Next full moon… Dana was caught unaware in a rather risque situation when the full moon hit her through the windshield of her patrol car . . . and Deputy district attorney Dylan Landau just happened to be there at the time. The night sizzled with their chance meeting !!!!

In the next Nocturne Bite, Wolf Bait, we met another couple affected by a bite.

Red Wolf and Wolf Trap contain those Nocturne Bites as bonus material, so that the series is all together in the two print volumes. Yay! You can read all four sexy, suspenseful stories, about four couples and four full moons. Paranormal romantic suspense with lightning-fast pacing. That’s the way I like them… rolling fast and furious from the get-go, right through to the end.

So — Wolf Trap is the finale of the series. In it, the three couples from the earlier books join with the couple from the new story to try to take this rogue wolf and his fierce pack down. It’s another  action-packed, sexy romance with the hero (Parker Madison) stumbling upon a young woman (Chloe Tyler) in the park, who has been attacked by a gang. Unbeknownst to either of them, Chloe has also been bitten. Guess what will happen to her? Yep.

But Parker is a werewolf also, one who watches and waits to see if there are others like himself. When he comes across Chloe, and realizes what has happened to her, really … sparks fly… even though she has to be hospitalized in the same hospital where he’s an emergency room surgeon. Complicating things – when he’s near to her, he’s not real stable. He’s been looking for others like himself, and here’s a blossoming female. Hunger. Longing. All part of the deal. He’s got to decide what to do with Chloe, who can’t remain in a hospital that can’t help her. He has to get her out of there, and yet he can’t afford to remain with her, due to the intensity of his cravings for her.

Gosh, I love writing stories like this, where there are so many dilemmas standing in the way of the hero and heroine getting together, and yet they just have to. It makes my writing time so special. I get to see where the characters go, and how they will resolve the major issues confronting them. I get to know these things before you do. Then I wait to see how you connect to what is extreme werewolf bliss for me, the author.

I just can’t tell you enough about how exciting it is for me to be writing a series like this, and creating my own take on the werewolf world. Yes, my take is a bit different from the norm. Maybe it will seem fresh to you… that’s my hope.

Here’s what the reviewers are saying, in case you need a nudge from someone other than me to pick them up and give me a try. And I swear that I don’t know these people, and no bribes crossed hands to hear these thrilling  words.

Wolf Trap:

Cataromance Reviews: Top pick (4.5 rating) “With new scenarios where positive outcomes are never assured, the Wolf Moon series concludes its fascinating run with a clever paranormal story (Wolf Trap) packed with unique ideas . . . The special take on werewolves by this talented author is apparent here . . . and the final story Linda Thomas-Sundstrom has created for her distinctive werewolves is engaging, with enthralling action and heartfelt emotion.”

Wolf Trap:

Genre Go Round Reviews: (5 stars at Barnes and Noble) “The latest Werewolf police procedural is a faster than moonlight thriller.”

Red Wolf:

Long and Short Reviews: (4.5 stars) “Once in a while you come across that one book that really sticks with you way past the last page. Red Wolf is one of those.”

Red Wolf:

Night Owl Reviews: Top Pick (4.75 stars) “Ms Thomas-Sundstrom has written a wonderfully suspenseful story that blends the normal with the supernatural in an extremely successful way. Her characters are intelligent, believable, and attention getting. The plot is captivating, intriguing, and passionate. The sexual tension between the main characters is so scorching that sparks seem to leap right off the page.”

When people connect with my characters and my stories in this way, they are connecting with me. This is author bliss. So many great reviews, back-to-back, is rare, and I’m tap dancing to the point of breaking a leg over the success of my Wolf Moons series. Believe me, I do not take it for granted. I loved writing this series, and I love when the books make other peoples’ reading experiences happy ones.

Well, I’ll end by announcing that I’ll be writing more Nocturnes, for sure. I’m half way through writing a vampire tale for the imprint, and a vampire Bite (yes, and don’t those two things go hand in hand?) Then I’m combing vamps with my beloved Weres for the final two.

I do hope you’ll come along for the ride.

GIVEAWAY:

I’d love to give away a book today to someone who really enjoys the paranormal as much as I do. So please comment, tell us what you like best about reading paranormal stories. What they do for you. Make you happy? Make you think? Transport you out of this world? Give you sexy dreams?

I’ll be here all day, and am all ears….

Cheers!

Linda

www.lindathomas-sundstrom.com

www.nocturneauthors.net

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Categories: contests • paranormal books

How well do you know author Rachel Vincent’s Shifters series? Rachel is celebrating the release of book 5 in the series, SHIFT, by giving one smart reader a chance to win a free book with her Shifters trivia quiz! All you have to do is show off your knowledge of all things werecat…

by Rachel Vincent, author of SHIFT (Book 5 in the Shifters series from MIRA Books)

As most of you hopefully know by now, I’m celebrating the release of SHIFT, the fifth book in my Shifters series! This one finds Faythe and her friends and family racing to clear their Pride’s name and save one of their own from a new enemy, whose attack threatens to cripple the South Central Pride as it stands on the brink of civil war. SHIFT is the most action-packed, emotionally tense werecat adventure yet.

And yes, for those of you who’ve asked, the big secret is revealed—but probably not the way you expected it to come to light.

Now for the fun part! Are you a Shifters fan? Think you’re an expert on Shifters trivia? Take the 15 question quiz below to test your knowledge of the series. And don’t worry if you haven’t read the new release yet—only two of the questions come from SHIFT.

After you take the quiz, leave your score in a comment below, and I’ll draw one winner at random this weekend to receive one signed copy of your choice of the five currently available Shifters books. Or, you can choose to defer your prize until ALPHA comes out in October and have a signed copy of the sixth and final Shifters book then! Winner’s choice!

Okay, start quizzing!

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Categories: free read • on the web

by Amy Wilkins, Harlequin Digital
If you’re a fan of Spice books (Harlequin’s erotica line) with a touch of paranormal, you’re in for a treat this March! Starting today, author Saskia Walker has a FREE online read at eHarlequin.com called YIELD TO ME. Here is the blurb:

The year is 1705. Annabel McGraw seeks to make a home in Carbrey—a small village on the Scottish coast—ever fearful that her secret will be discovered. A practitioner of the forbidden ancient craft, Annabel faces the hangman’s noose if the truth is revealed. When the villagers become suspicious, she knows she should flee, but her lust for local merchant Ewan Findlay makes her reluctant to move on.…

When Ewan interrogates Annabel at the local inn where she works, it is soon clear that he knows she is a witch—and that he wants her just as much as she wants him! Unable to resist him, or to trust him, Annabel willingly gives in to her wildly passionate nature, risking both her heart, and her very life! But it seems Ewan has a secret of his own.…

The first chapter of YIELD TO ME is up now and a new chapter will be posted each week.

YIELD TO ME is also connected to Saskia’s April Spice novel RAMPANT. Be sure to visit us again in April when Saskia will tell us more about Annabel’s legacy. Until then, here’s the blurb about RAMPANT to whet your appetite

Possession is only half the fun.…

The moment she arrives at her rented vacation cottage nestled in Scotland, Zoë Daniels feels it—an arousal so powerful she’s compelled to surrender to the unusually forceful carnal desires…with nearly anyone who crosses her path. Crawford Logan, the boat builder with the wayward grin. The devilish restaurateur Cain Davot, who seems to know more about Zoë than he lets on. And even her sexy neighbor Grayson Murdoch, whose eyes delve deep into her soul as he explores every inch of her body.

Yet there’s something unsettling about the way the locals watch her.… Something eerie about these overwhelming encounters. Zoë knows she’s not quite in control of herself and begins to wonder if there’s any truth to the legend of Annabel McGraw—a powerful, promiscuous eighteenth-century witch who once owned the cottage, and whose spirit is rumored to affect anyone who stays there. Zoë doesn’t believe in anything that even hints at the occult, but now strange visions are turning frightening…and only one man’s touch can bring her back to earth.

Categories: paranormal books

Connie Hall is one busy author! Not only is she working on Rainwater sister’s trilogy, but she has three Silhouette Nocturne Bites stories to accompany it! Connie visits Harlequin’s Paranormal Romance Blog today to tell us about the first Nocturne Bite out now, Time Jumper….

by Connie Hall, author of Time Jumper (Silhouette Nocturne Bites, February 2010)

Okay, I confess right now that I believe in a supernatural world that we can’t see, nor will we ever be able to understand it.  I just know it’s there.  Consequently, anything to do with the supernatural genre thrills me.  And isn’t this blog a great avenue to discuss it!  I just wanted to tell you about my new Rainwater sister’s trilogy, and the three e-bites that accompany that series, Time Jumper, Color Weaver and Song Bird.

I wanted these stories set in our current world with a twist; a supernatural world coexists with it.  A world that is hidden from humans, but nonetheless thrives.

I must explain that all the e-bites stories center around the Rainwater sisters, Fala, Takala, and Nina.  They all possess phenomenal powers from white magic.  Nina is the youngest and she has the gift of tongues, able to communicate with living and dead creatures.  Her story is Beholder, and she’s taken captive by a sexy shape shifter.  Takala has phenomenal physical strength and she butts heads with a vampire in Nightwalker.  Fala is the oldest of the sisters.  She’s the Guardian, the most powerful shaman on earth.  She holds the balance between good and evil.  In her story, The Guardian, a hunky warlock must kill her to save his brothers from a demon.

When Harlequin asked me to write the e-bites, I decided to let the heroines have powers that helped the Guardian–if she needed it.  They also are related and members of the same American Indian tribe in Virginia.  You’ll see some minor characters from the main three books in all these short stories.

The idea for Time Jumper came to me when I thought it would be neat to be able to travel through time.  Then I had to come up with a power for my heroine, Hannah Gray.  Her body is a vessel that can carry the Guardian and anyone else through time, past or present.  But the one downside is that if she uses her ability she dies.  She’s an orphan and doesn’t know why clocks stop around her, or why on her 28th birthday lightning struck her and her skin began to glow.  An evil poltergeist saw this phenomenon and knows she’s the Time Jumper and he’s after her.

The hero, Aden Running Wolf, was a character in The Guardian.  He’s blind, but he has extrasensory powers.  I patterned him after, Stick, Electra’s mentor.  He kills demons as a pastime just to keep his sanity after losing his sight and his wife in a car accident for which he blames himself.  Aden rescues Hannah, then learns that he holds the power, through Hannah, to turn back time and regain everything he’s lost.  One problem, though, he falls in love with Hannah.  Can’t give away the ending, but I promise you won’t find out until the very end.

If you like Time Jumper, I hope you’ll look for Color Weaver and Songbird.  Happy Reading, all!

Connie Hall

Categories: paranormal books

If you’ve been waiting to read the last three books in Laura Anne Gilman’s Retrievers series (Burning Bridges, Free Fall, and Blood from Stone), now’s your chance to pick them up in a new format! Laura Anna is here today to blog about her books, and what she has in store for readers next….

by Laura Anne Gilman, author of Burning Bridges, Free Fall, and Blood from Stone (now available in mass market paperback from Luna Books)

When I was a Brownie, lo these *cough* many years ago, there was a song that went like this:

“…make new friends, but keep the old

One is silver

And the other gold”

It’s been going around in my head a lot, these days (and my apologies to those of you whom I’ve just earwormed).

Why that song, in particular?

In February the last three “Retrievers” titles, BURNING BRIDGES, FREE FALL, and BLOOD FROM STONE became available in mass market format, rather than trade paperback.  With that change, the entire Retrievers series moved into its next life – what the publishing industry refers to as “backlist,” meaning that they’ve all been out for more than a year (six years, in the case of STAYING DEAD!  Wow, how time flies…)

That segment of my ‘brag shelf’ is sort of teary-eyed-making.  Seven, almost eight years of my life has been spent with Wren and Sergei and PB, and I’ve loved (almost) every minute of it.

[almost, because let’s face it, not every moment of writing (or revising!) goes smoothly.  In fact, sometimes hitting your head against a sharp spike would be less painful.  But those moments pass, and the joy comes back again]

I’m not saying there will never be another Wren & Sergei story – in fact, there probably will be, in short form if nothing else.  But they’re taking a break and I’m feeling kind of adrift, the way you did when your bestest friend and her family moved across country, because even e-mail/Skyping’s not the same as sitting together every day at lunch.

(pauses to blow hand into hanky, with an incredibly indelicate and unladylike *honk*)

At the same time, there is silver to be found, because Luna asked me to continue working in the world of the Cosa Nostradamus, starting a new, spin-off series. So in May, we will be bringing you HARD MAGIC, featuring Bonnie Torres, a paranormal scenes investigator (known to readers of the previous series as PUPIs, or Private, Unaffiliated Paranormal Investigators).

There are currently three books under contract, so I’m hoping that Bonnie and her crew will find as many followers as Wren, and that you’ll keep a special place in your hearts (and your shelves) for the entire Cosa Nostradamus crew, old and new.

New friends, to fill in the absence left by the old.  Silver and gold.

Now.  How many of you are going to be humming that song under your breath (or in your brain) all day?

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Categories: paranormal books

You never know what little thing could change your life…like the two paragraphs that led to the publication author Nina Croft’s debut Nocturne Bite, The Prophecy! Find out what those paragraphs were in Nina’s guest-post….

by Nina Croft, author of The Prophecy (Silhouette Nocturne Bites, February 2010)

I’ve been in love with vampires ever since reading Ann Rice’s ‘Interview with a Vampire’ when I was twelve. They provide the perfect hero material; tortured, fighting their darker natures – and sometimes losing – tall, dark, sexy, and dangerous. So it’s no surprise that when I came to writing my debut Nocturne Bites, The Prophecy, there would have to be a vampire somewhere. In this case, it’s the heroine, Raven Cole.

Raven is actually half-vampire, half-witch, and due to a prophecy made at the time of her birth, she’s had things pretty rough. She definitely deserves a handsome shape-shifter hero and a happy ever after.

The Prophecy is the story of how she gets both.

It’s been nearly a year now since I came across a competition on the Harlequin community site — write a two paragraph blurb for your story, and win the chance to pitch to one of the Harlequin editors.

I was already half-way through writing my paranormal romance, and it seemed like a great opportunity. So I wrote my blurb, polished it, rewrote, polished… You get the picture, but I did finally manage to press the send button.

I had an email the next morning saying I was one of the winners. Now I had ten minutes to sell my story to the editor in a live chat session. I’d never done a chat session before, I’d never pitched to an editor, and my typing is strictly one finger at a time.

But was I daunted? Er yes.

I don’t actually remember much from the pitch, except the editor was very nice (and I’m not just saying that). But I survived, my fingers have grown back, and at the end of it, I had a request to see my manuscript.

I live in Spain, so most emails from the US arrive in my mailbox overnight, and for a while, starting up my laptop in the morning became an act of true bravery.

The months passed. I tried to tell myself no news was good news. Either that or my story had never arrived at its destination and was floating around in cyberspace, unloved and unread.

After three months, I gave in to temptation and emailed the editor. She came right back to me – she liked my story and had passed it on for final approval. It wasn’t lost in space, somebody liked my story – it was almost enough.

It was actually another two months before I got the final confirmation. That email has been printed, framed, and stuck on my wall. I still get a little shiver when I look at it.

So this is how my debut Nocturne Bite, The Prophecy, came to be. A two paragraph blurb that changed my life – you can read it on my website at www.ninacroft.com.

So next time you sit down to write, think about what two paragraphs could change your life.

Categories: paranormal books

Julie Kagawa brings us a world of fantastic creatures, dangerous fey courts, and faeries as you’ve never seen them before in her debut YA novel THE IRON KING, on sale now from Harlequin TEEN. Learn more about this first installment in the Iron Fey series from Julie, and be sure to check out THE IRON KING video and Book Browse preview!

by Julie Kagawa, author of The Iron King (Book 1 of the Iron Fey series from Harlequin TEEN, February 2010)

I’ll be honest: writing guest posts for me is hard. I think I started and erased the beginning of this post a dozen times before something finally stuck to the page. I don’t know why it’s so difficult to talk about myself. It would be easier if I was a world traveler or big game hunter or once ran with the bulls in Spain. Then I could say something like: “I’ve wanted to hunt lions ever since I was two and rescued my doll from a rogue cougar in the backyard,” and everyone would ooh and ahh and hang on every word I said.

And I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent, haven’t I? Right, back to what I’m supposed to be talking about. My name is Julie Kagawa, and my first YA novel The Iron King will be debuting with Harlequin TEEN this February. It’s about a girl named Meghan Chase who, on her sixteenth birthday, discovers her little brother has been stolen by faeries, and she must venture into Faeryland to get him back. Along the way, she discovers her own faery heritage, falls in love with an enemy prince, and must face down an ancient evil to rescue her brother. It’s a fun story, with goblins and phouka and faery princes and danger and romance. And Grimalkin of course. Can’t forget Grimalkin.

A lot of people have asked me where the idea for The Iron King came from. It all started with a single character, Meghan, and the story sort of evolved around her. Meghan is a normal teen who is pulled into this dangerous, fantastic world, and how she reacts drives the story forward. The other important element of the book is the Iron fey—the faeries of progress, technology, and the modern world, and how they clash with the ancient, traditional fey like Oberon and Titania. It was a lot of fun to write, albeit a bit frantic, since I finished it as part of NaNoWrimo, where you must write 50,000 words in 30 days.

You know, I’d imagine NaNo is almost as frantic as running with the bulls in Spain. If you fall behind, you’ll get trampled, either by hooves or an accumulating word quota. And NaNo lasts for a month, whereas bull running only lasts a few minutes, depending on how soon you fall down. Okay, I’m reaching. Check out The Iron King in February, if you like. Meghan’s adventures are much more exciting.

Want to know more about The Iron King? Check out this great book trailer and read the first3 chapters of the book using the Browse the Book widget below!

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Categories: paranormal books

Gena Showalter’s awaited sequel to Playing with Fire is now on sale! Twice as Hot is in stores (online and otherwise )…but before you run out to buy it, Gena’s here to guest blog about how she couldn’t resist torturing her superpowered heroine in Twice as Hot….

by Gena Showalter, author of Twice as Hot (HQN Books, Feb. 2010)

What could be more fun than a woman developing unexpected superpowers?  That same woman trying to plan her wedding to a sexy government agent, of course!  “Wedding dress” is suddenly synonymous with “bonfire,” and a paraster—paranormal disaster—waits around every corner.

I know, I know.  How could I do that to sweet – and totally non-sarcastic, always on the up and up — Belle Jamison?

Hint:  I absolutely, unequivocally enjoy torturing my characters.  And do I ever torture my darling Belle… Her powers over the four elements – earth, air, wind and fire — are on the fritz in a bad, bad way, her best friend and empath sidekick Tanner is in a funk since his girlfriend dropped him, her other best friend Sherridan has moved in and is desperate to develop a superpower of her own, no matter the consequences, and Belle’s wedding is literally going up in flames around her.

See?  How could I not enjoy that?  I mean, after Playing With Fire released in 2006 – a story about how Belle first develops her superpowers and meets Rome (who secretly plans to neutralize her but ends up falling for her instead), Belle insisted I tell the rest of her story.  Honest.  She didn’t beg me to leave her alone, and I didn’t tell her to stuff it.

You see, in Playing With Fire, there was one narrative thread that I did not tie up (and could not tie up, at the time).  One thread that stuck with me all these years.  Was Belle the one and only woman for Rome Masters?

I knew the answer — he belongs with me!  Uh, never mind, scratch that, didn’t meant to say it aloud — but Rome’s ex, the world’s best psychic, never agreed.  Maybe because she’s always wanted him back, and I threatened to pull her hair out, but that’s neither here nor there.  And then, when Rome returns from a mission, minus only his memories of Belle, Belle begins to wonder, as well.  Are they or aren’t they?  Can they or can’t they?

Let’s face it.  She needed to know.  She deserved to know.  We women have to stick together, so I was more than willing to help her out.  Totally altruistic on my part, I assure you.  I’m a giver.  I didn’t do it simply to spend more time with my alpha warrior Rome.  So, after a four-year wait (I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry) Belle finally gets to learn the truth.  And I hope you enjoy discovering that truth as much as I – uh, she — did.

Wishing you all the best,
Gena Showalter

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Categories: paranormal books

If you like your paranormal romances with a touch of spice, you’ll love Christine McKay’s paranormal-themed erotic short stories from Spice Briefs! Christine’s here today to tell us about her latest release, Loch Dragon’s Lady, a sensual tale of shapeshifting and magic in Scotland…

by Christine McKay, author of Loch Dragon’s Lady (Spice Briefs, January 2010)

Hero with a Scottish accent. Check. Hero wearing a kilt. Check again. Shape-shifter who doesn’t have a feline or canine alter-ego or hangs out with vampires. Yep. Heroine who isn’t a super bad-ass, have a chip on her shoulder, or the personality of  a door mat. Bingo! Love paranormal stories set in the contemporary world? Looking for a little palate-clearing minty freshness before returning to the land of vampires, werewolves, and zombies? Try my Harlequin Spice Brief, Loch Dragon’s Lady.

Hi. Christine McKay here. My second Harlequin story, Loch Dragon’s Lady,  was just released on New Year’s Day. The little known Outer Hebrides of Scotland, a place too rugged to be tamed by any group of people but as luring as a Siren’s voice to composers,  painters and the occasional bold tourist,  is home to Robert Dunyveg, a water dragon shape-shifter. Though gruff and antisocial, he’s no Loch Ness monster. Did I mention he likes to wear nothing more than a kilt?

Enter Ellen Kildonan. Despite the surname, she’s never set a foot in Scotland. When she’s willed the deed to Robert’s island by a little known relative, Ellen can’t sell it sight unseen. Regardless of the season, a trip to the Hebrides is anything but tame. Trapped on her island by the weather, injured, and stalked by a strange man who’s definitely not 100% human, Ellen’s forced to confront uncomfortable mysteries about herself and her ancestors. Cue tortured music.

What can I say? The Hebrides called to me. Check out National Geographic’s very timely pictorial article: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/01/hebrides/warren-text/2. To call the land gorgeous would be an insult. Mysterious, captivating, and dangerous are better words. One needs a strong hero to learn to live in harmony with such land. And Robert’s my man, er, dragon. A paranormal creature like Robert requires an equally confident and not-quite-human woman. Thus, Ellen, was crafted. Loch Dragon’s Lady packs a lot into a little space: paranormal creatures, romance, sex, villagers with pitchforks and torches (just kidding). I admit to being envious of Ellen. Who wouldn’t want their own dragon?

Since I have about a 100 words left in my blog, I’d like to mention Carnal Magic, also a paranormal Spice Brief of mine released this past October. After the life-changing and gut-wrenching loss of her fiancé, Elaine turns to magic to fill the void. Not the hocus-pocus, pull-the-rabbit-out-of-the-hat sleight of hand, but the magic of incantations, formulas, rituals, and of course, danger. Her carefully built spell culminates in a All Hallow’s Eve disaster that belches up, not her lost fiancé, but an otherworldly stranger who has the power to steal a person’s soul. Sorry, no demons here. Just a formidable but lonely specter looking for a taste of love. In exchange for it, he’s willing to bring Elaine’s fiancé back from the dead…if…and only if, Elaine finds no passion lying within his embrace. It’s a wager she’s willing to make, but, as she’s learning, those who cast spells are sometimes the easiest to be-spell.

I hate flying – it’s a control thing. Imagine my excitement at finding out this year’s Romantic Times convention and the National Romance Writer’s conference are both within reasonable driving distance. Hurrah! If you happen to attend either event and recognize my name, please stop to say “Hello!” I’m working on having book plates designed and even if you’re an e-book reader only, I’d be happy sign one for you. Want to see more of what I write? Check out my website, www.ChristineMcKay.com.

Categories: contests • paranormal books

Lori Devoti, author of the new Silhouette Nocturne Bite LURED, has a tough choice for paranormal romance fans: would you rather meet a hellhound or a werewolf? Read Lori’s guest-post on the differences between these two kinds of sexy shifters and make your pick in the comments by Sunday, Jan. 25 for a chance to win a free book!

by Lori Devoti, author of Lured (Silhouette Nocturne Bites, Jan. 2010) and The Hellhound King (Silhouette Nocturne, Feb. 2010)

This year I have three releases coming out with Nocturne. Two feature werewolves (Lured, Nocturne Bite January/ Zombie Moon, Nocturne novel, July) and one a hellhound (The Hellhound King, Nocturne novel, February).  I have to admit I love them both, but if I HAD to choose I’d pick…no I’m not going to say. (grin) I want you to tell me!

But to be fair, before we can really discuss which you would rather meet in a dark alley, or maybe in a candle-lit bathtub, I should probably outline a few differences for you.

Both werewolves and hellhounds are shape-shifters, and both are canine when in their other form. But hellhounds’ shifts aren’t tied to anything except their own whims. They also have some other cool powers like blending (making the eye go right past them when they stand still) and shimmering (moving from place to place in the blink of an eye).

You can put a bunch of hellhounds together, but one alpha will quickly fight his way to the top. And all in all they would prefer to be out on their own.

So far as becoming a hellhound, you can’t. You have to be born that way.

They also have a bit of a tortured past. Over millennia, they have been owned by others and forced to hunt and fight. Now they are free, but still bear the scars of that past.

It makes them rather sweet—uh, no it doesn’t.

Now for my weres….you are probably pretty up on werewolf talents, but I’ll do a quick rundown.

In my world, you can be made into one. In fact in Zombie Moon, my hero chose to become a were for a very specific purpose. (Hint it’s given away in the title.) In Lured, my heroine is also made into a were and not by her own choosing.

Weres can’t shimmer, but they are stronger than an average man, can heal faster, and move faster.  And, unlike hellhounds, they form packs. In fact living on your own means you are a rogue, which in werewolf politics means you are a loose cannon and a big walking target for the local pack alpha.

They don’t have the tortured past of the hellhounds, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have issues. They are rare and bagging a were would be quite a prize—not to mention dealing with all the other weres and their issues.

Most importantly though, both hellhounds and werewolves are super sexy and if they are playing a hero in my book, alphas.

So, what do you think? Would you go for the male who was once used to run in the wild hunt, capturing lost souls? Or the wolf who roams free and is tied at least to some degree to the changes in the moon?

Who would you date and who would you want to be?

For me without question it would be…nope, not going to say. You just can’t make me choose.

But if you want to choose, you can get a shot at winning one of my books (2009 release or earlier). Just post your choice (hellhound or werewolf) and why here. I’ll pick a winner and post it in these comments Sunday. (ship to U.S. and Canada only)

Lori